Show FT OF 0 mr THE D DESE E R XII continued 12 must have been tile old aled stamp ns south in that can where I 1 told you the lie cavalrymen r waiting tonight I 1 RID am beginning J u what Is up tip or nt at lenat least suspect nil all tills this rany may tile bienn all someone 1114 accident nily stumbled onto tills this old mine I 1 dont believe tile the discoverer could bo be either cither nob bob or carrity but in some way they pot got wind of it anti and have taken possession this trall supposed to bo be bendeb 1 for mexico Al exico stops steps tier here Case heo dont know up an and dont care anre ne de gets his money just tile the same with less traveling truvell ng and danger claybe lie risks asks no oldest questions ions maybe to tic knows up tip and Is in on tile deal any awny under orders lie he dumps ill the stuff powder dynamite what oer it Is and hustles it out of sight into that before daylight comes collies ills hla mule train Is hack again on en tile the dea 09 ert cri empty traveling north and there Is nothing you can do 10 to Is there site she asked it Is no crime to discover antwork an and dwork bork u mine no only perhaps tant dead man you tell use me about murder Is still a A crime even on tills this border there Is something about this affair which straight otherwise garraty and nob bob meager be in it those guys are playing dirt somehow it Vs is up to me to find out how i kelleen stood up advancing to tile the very er edge of the flat rock where lie could U uld look straight down into the deep d depression below there Is no movement down there outfit la is not onto the scheme after they go that stuff will all be carried into tilt the tunnel meager will nevor nevar dare leave it out yonder Wb ats tile the place called where the soldiers ore are box canyon why 1 I was wondering A sharp spit of fire leaped out ot of the night beyond the horses accod panted by a dull report the startled whirled and disappeared in the darkness but deborah saw only kelleen poised there on the edge of alie ai lie chasm saw him ling fling up both J hands clutching vainly at the at air r and biln topple over down into those thos 0 ng depths below she could not aven aven scream ream but some irresistible ln in 4 fk caused her instantly to roll i back front from ott oft the stone into the slight blight S depression depres slon at its pase base in the black ilarene ilar darkness kne of this shallow sli allow hole she lay moAl motionless onless scarcely venturing to breathe in her fright and daze she yet comprehended all that had occurred the shot had come not from beneath but out of the desert kelleen had been killed the horses stampeded she was unhurt but alone it was all over so quickly the situation ba bably cly flashel flashed through her brain I 1 before a voice spoke a voice familiar and hated by G gd d that got him halml I 1 did you see how lie he toppled plumb over the cliff that settles kettles his bis spying on us I 1 re reckon elcon 11 31 senor but I 1 would swear there was two of them there 11 jou OU saw two no only the one standing against the light the senor wid kid I 1 know him out nut I 1 thought lie he spoke anti and sure senor there were two horses of course lie he stole mine I 1 had a shot at litin him then but there Is no one else here D n you look for youra your 0 if Sanc hezI this rock Is clean as a billiard table and theres no place to hide where the h 4 1 do you suppose those bronca went we find lem em when the day comes they not so far in the desert senor where the KV kid fall here deborah realized that the mexican bad clambered onto the flat top of the rock and was peering down aown over tile the edge while meager remained on the sand impatiently moving about well what do you see he be barked finally not cne d n thing ichor black like h b 1 I down there he ha no live after that meager laughed ill say lie he not even it he was a cut cat there aint tic no use ilse our hanging round here that guy Is s out of the way and well pick him up an plant him after these others clear out Case beers outfit must be through by 8 time co cc ori on down and start back L paid him sl I 1 senor echor he never unload till I 1 ke be what you vou call hard boll s iles siles hard boiled till all right but by 0 d hes hee got to hold his bla d n tongue over this dealt deal I 1 ill go on down with you and have a final word with him ril ill tell that guy something hell not forget come on theres nothing more for us to do up here the frightened girl crushed into the shallow role hole half beneath the shadowing rock dare 12 cot 1201 01 stir for some time the men might decide to return some dim suspicion might enter their minds causing them to retrace their steps she could see nothing tier her folee face pressed hard against the hind i and the alie sound of the two died away quickly at last unable to re viula in that posture longer shi cau by randall parrish by A C mccurd 6 co lifted tier hend head and gazed about into tile darl darkness ness thero there win was nothing to be seen or hoard heard and silo sho finally dually struggled struggle to tier bur feet clinging to jo tile rock kocl edge for support it was till nil plain eno enough ugh yet she could not seau to think clearly and tier illuas were vere so euk they would scarcely support her body kelleen had been wiled murdered meager alenger lint crept up tip in the dark lint and ahot tile tiie inan down in fit colt blood us its lie stood silhouetted silhouette against that gleam bicain of tire tile the victim had bad toppled over the cliff and if not alre already ildy lead dead from tile bullet must have been crushed crus lied into pulp on oil tile aliu rucks rocks below those these facts cattle boine moro and more visibly to tilt girls mind silo hud had escaped dl discovery covery na as by a it miracle 1 I und not yet to bilat end slit she was alone lost without either horse borsse or weapon to aid her in escape both animals had dad disappeared in tile desert night tier ber had gone down with kelien hut one blender bit of fortune rem remained alric d her presence there was still unsuspected the mail whose discovery site she had most reason to dread yet believed tier lier back at tile ranch lanch hitting hiding from him behind locked doors hut but helpless to escape his return ilow how slie she lind had ever evaded his hh recognition was 11 mystery yet thank godl diohna ad and till this fact alone gave cave her n slender chance assured at last that the men had really departed a measure of strength returning a she bile moved tier her limbs and faced the realities debonis Deho crept back upon tile tint flat surface of the rock and gared eased frightened into those dizzy depths below it was like n night mare tile alie horrid memory which haunt ed tier her of Kel leens body whirling down through that glare of red light but by then the light had failed faded tile distant fire having died down to red nail ash and her eyes were unable to penetrate tile the gloom beneath she stared into a black void seeing no movement hearing no ilo sound th tho 0 awful silence and loneliness rushed crushed her spirit what could sho she do where could she go not to those men there in ili tile the valley surely not to bob meager asking for mercy and release lie ili was vas impossibly tier her bitter hatred of 0 him more intense than ever to all the wrong done tier her in tile the past was added now tills this brutal murder of daniel nelleen and suddenly un expect edly the girl realized what tills last meant to her she refused to re nc knowledge the truth fought it back there alone in the darkness yet it would not be altogether ignored daniel kelleen was dead gone from out tier her life forever and there came into tier her heart a desire for revenge a mad impulse to fitly punish the murderer she longed to become the instrument to prove her loyalty to him by action yet how what was it possible for her to do slie she stared helplessly about into the dense blackness of the desert and up lip at the desert stars overhead tier her mind obsessed with these questions it was no longer herself so much as the aroused memory of him slie she would carry on his work she must at whatever cost but how the cavalrymen stationed at box canyon I 1 they were waiting for the approach of Case beers outfit or else some word of command from kelleen they could not bp far away over there to the south lie he said and be had pointed in that direction the stars would help tier her to keep the points of tit the compass until daylight came and then surely she ehe could discern something else to steer her course by sho she must go on foot straight out into the desert there might not be one chance in a hundred of tier her going right yet the one chance was better than remaining there for bob meager to find tier her she would rather dle die miserably in the sand waste than feel that wretch touch tier her again god yes the kiss has of death would be sweet compared to the touch of his lips she shuddered at the tb thought ought ills his wifel wife I 1 the subject of ills his foul ci caresses yes ses helpless to repel ills his lust ills hla brutal bestiality she would make the fie trail she would go south tills this was ivas all that teat tier her mind grasped clearly the soldiers sold lera were vere camped nt at box canyon and box canyon was somewhere out there to the southward to reach them was her only I 1 hoped hope she stood up and studied the sky she knew so little of those stars they arl frightened glit ened and confused her in their desert brilliancy and yet she remembered enough to meet her immediate needs the big avas easily found and then the north star she must be right for kelleen had pointed over there and the direction he had designated coincided exactly with what the stars told she could not go far wrong it if she kept that north star at her back she would be going south A moment she paused hesitating to take the plunge a prayer on her alp how lonely desolate ablack black the night was the very silence I 1 seemed to item her in ili isolate her har froni from nil all tile the world thru inn sot et lips the girl went ent forward ln her wnm through the instantly swallowed ii tit in ili tile lip mack black desert she plunged on rec recklessly kleisly desperately hope lying dying within tier lier us its site eliu nothing could guide her now or save her hut but gods mercy the soundless N void nold old through vilich she moved the impenetrable black binck curtain enveloping her almost drove tier her anad mm she could not lot tight fight the depression or keep lier her mind clear the annd tin shifted aulder lier her feet and twice silo fell heavily vily tripped hy some protruding rock tin and left bruised aind all breathless iler her was its blind uncertain and slie she scarcely dared turn tier lier face forward elrd for fear of losing the guidance of that one star liy by which site she ored to 0 o steer silo was lost utterly lint but for that oil and when for a moment lier I 1 er eyes everything becil begnino lilo confused tier her every sense of direction gone golie ilow how long slid she tolled on how fust fast tier rate of progress the girl never knew the wity was uneven unexpected depressions depres slona liero herc anti there all and ridges of rock projecting through the lie stint sand wid oc caslon lilly silo had find to go around once slit alio encountered n shallo ravine stepping oft off into it unconsciously and then crawling painfully up the opposite side cut by sharp splinters of 0 stone before attaining the level again for tit alie moment site lost tier her star but finally located it once more and plunged desperately on then slie site saw something just of lier her a dim till indell indefinable tint I 1 i shadow which seemed to move it was so ao so grote grotesque sIlle und lind slit shapeless tier her abry cry heart stood still with terror the girl sank to tier lier knees trembling no eyes for anything except that mysterious moving object misshapen Ils huge looming oddly through the gloom it was advancing steadily toward lier her a formless something which resembled neither man nor beast CHAPTER XII 1 the border patrol y deborah rose thillia thil timidly lIl Y to td her feet tier her heart beginning to beat once more but not with fear forth from the darkness came the low of a horse in sudden recognition while as instantly that horrid shadow took both shape and form jt was waa a horse saddled bridled the rein trailing along the sand one of the two stampeded by the shot which find killed kelleen ile he had sensed tier her coming in the desert night and was vaa even then dumbly welcoming tier her tile the girl went forward slowly doubtfully fearful of again startling the animal into flight but lie he remained quiet sniffing tit at her as she drew near and site she finally put hand on oil the alie dangling g rein it was the horse lionso kelleen had ridden and deborah lild bild her face in ills his mane and cried softly while lie he turned and rubbed ills his muzzle against tier her shoulder in silent greeting it seemed too good to bo be true us as though god had led her every bep peep of the way the sudden reaction left her weak its as a child yet she must go on there was more cause now than ever before to goon go on more hope of success she made the effort twice before she succeeded in dragging herself up into the saddle bu but t the horse stood patiently making no attempt to break away once there girls strength came back and with it lier her determination all was still deathly still not a breath of air touched her cheek check the dense night shut them in carefully she located the only star she knew to her mind it seemed utterly wrong in its position yeti yet she was falth faithful ful to it unit half afraid yet not daring to venture 0 otherwise she drew the horse about and rodel south the night seemed endless the black dese desert tt eternal there were times when the girl lost los consciousness of everything ery cry thing except that shining north star ever at tier her back it was her one guide and hope through it she re rei i tattled sanity and faith in that way lay box canyon and those waiting troopers she dare not ride fast knowing net what pitfalls were ahead tile the course i regular up and down the home picked his way intelligently the reins lying loose except as she occasionally occasion hily held him inexorably to the southward site she swayed wearily in the saddle clinging to the high pommel for support unable to see pee yet aware that they crossed shallow s ravines arid found passage occasionally along ridges of outcropping cropping out rock and then advanced more easily for long spaces over wide expanses 0 or san sand noiselessly as a specter it was hard to keep awake to concentrate to remember she had to struggle to realize this was wag not all dream then efter after seemingly endless hours tile the dawn came would slie she ever again forget tt it she hardly knew at first what it was riding drearily with lowered head she became dimly aware of a change a tightening lightening of the gloom about 0 dull jray riess tingling tingeing ting eing faintly the black wall mall of the night almost albok I 1 as she wondered thil the daylight came ann end nil spectral nt fit tier iter ista on it ara gray circle us its tile lie stars slowly front froin out i multi coh ired sav TJ r the left it white stir up ip in ili long ions juners touch ill ing with more inoru gaudy tinges tile edges of flemey clouds while ti it tilt the other ill 11 ll bertlon oll 11 purple haze with tile the deeper sl shadows inflows along tile the gorlion hoi hor loii lion it wis was tile or of tile the still rising t idill nisi illa abono tho faron far on off flin 0 af f ta ilia desert quit silo wua still moving loving il southward through the long night hours slip she ila eliud kept tile the faith yet vo there was little of |